The name of Dr. Lekhraj Gujadhur will undoubtedly remain engraved in the annals of psychiatry. Not in the radius of discoveries, but in that of various highlights for the profession.
Prosecuted for manslaughter, this psychiatrist has just been sentenced by the Criminal Court of Grenoble to 18 months in prison suspended for a murder committed by one of his schizophrenic patients. The doctor will appeal his conviction.
The facts date back to 2008. On December 12, says Pierre Bienvault in the newspaper The cross, Jean-Pierre Guillaud, 56, escapes from Saint-Egrève hospital (Isère) when he has permission to walk in the park without supervision. This patient has suffered from a chronic delusional psychosis for almost four decades and has been the author of stabbing attacks, specifies Release.
He takes the bus to go to Grenoble and buys a knife. And kills the first stranger he meets on his way. Luc Menier is 26 years old and is finishing his doctorate in mechanical engineering.
The case caused a stir and the President of the Republic at the time, Nicolas Sarkozy, seized on it to affirm that “the tragedy in Grenoble must not happen again”. A muscular speech, remember Releasewhich initiates a safe shift in psychiatry, in the eyes of the profession.
Words fly away, but justice passes. She sends Dr. Lekhraj Gujadhur back to court. “His conviction is incomprehensible, pleads his lawyer Me Jean-Yves Balestas today. Two days before the tragedy, this patient had certainly suffered a crisis, but his condition was then stabilized, ”he underlines. “My client is blamed for letting him go out in the park. But you should know that he had permission from the prefect to leave the hospital once a week. This is therefore a good sign that he was not considered immediately dangerous. »
The version put forward by the civil party is quite different. “Dr. Gujadhur had entrusted his follow-up to a trainee doctor who, three days before the tragedy, had alerted him to a worsening of his condition. He was in a state of decompensation and had shown murderous impulses,” objects Me Hervé Gerbi.
But behind this tragic news item, mental health professionals are wondering. Can a psychiatrist be held responsible for the actions of his patient? Asked by Release, one of them replied: “This judgment is fraught with excesses. We cannot predict. Letting believe that we can eliminate all risks is an illusion. There are things that escape us. »
